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Mary Alice Young
Mary Alice Young has been waxing poetic on the not-so-perfect lives of all the Desperate Housewives since day one. No one on Wisteria Lane is safe from Mary Alice’s insightful observations and intimate knowledge. Some secrets need to be told. And nobody dishes the dirt in a more comforting, neighborly way than Mary Alice Young. Biography 'Early Life' Years ago, Mary Alice (whose real name was Angela Forrest) couldn't conceive and bought a baby illegally from a heroin addict, Deirdre, whom she met while working as a nurse at Dorothy Drake Rehabilitation Center . She then moved to Wisteria Lane with her husband and the baby to start a new life. The Young family's beautiful, happy life on Wisteria Lane was nearly destroyed when the woman returned, seemingly sober, wanting her baby back. After a verbal fight, as Deirdre went to reclaim her baby, Mary Alice stabbed and killed her, as the child, originally named Dana and renamed Zach, watched. Mary Alice and Paul chopped up the body and buried it under their pool. Zach's father turned out to be Mike Delfino. 'Season 1' During an average day, Mary Alice made breakfast for her family of three, her husband Paul and her son Zach. She performed her chores. She completed her projects and ran her errands. But this day, she was concealing a terrifying secret, and as she went into her house, she went to her closet, brought down a shoe box and took out a small, silver revolver. She then moved over to the living room, cocked the gun, pointed it towards her head, and pulled the trigger. She died instantly. ( ) After finding a blackmail note in Mary Alice's clothes, the leading women make a series of discoveries. She was being treated by Dr Goldfine; she once went by another name, Angela; and she may have had something to do with a baby that disappeared. Her son, Zach Young, begins to have flashbacks and is under the impression that he killed a baby named Dana, when he was younger. When Felicia Tilman comes to town and realizes she knew Mary Alice by her former identity, it's only a matter of time before the women learn just how much Mary Alice may have been hiding. Mary Alice serves as the first main mystery of the series, and the main mystery of season one. Her friends spend the season trying to find out what happened to make Mary Alice kill herself, and her nefarious husband Paul spent his time trying to thwart their attempts at discovering the truth. The ramifications of her secret and actions in season one continue to affect characters and stories to this day. 'Season 2' Mary Alice's first appearance of season 2 was in the episode "There Is No Other Way," where it shows her going about her daily activities in her earlier life on Wisteria Lane. It is later revealed that Mary Alice was the first housewife to move to Wisteria Lane, fifteen years before the show's pilot episode (the day Mary Alice killed herself). In the second season finale, Mary Alice appeared in the episodes in various flash backs, describing how she met the major housewives. The first character she met was Susan. Mary Alice rescued Susan after she locked herself in her moving van. The second character she encountered was Bree, who came to the Youngs' house with Andrew and Rex in town. She made Andrew apologize for stealing a garden ornamental frog. She met Lynette several years later. Lynette and Tom were arguing over how Lynette was expecting twins and that it was completely okay for Lynette to punish Tom for not telling her that his family had eight sets of twins over three generations. Gabrielle was the final housewife to be greeted by the group. She was invited to a game of poker after Eli Scruggs (the local handyman) mentioned her to the other housewives. At first she bragged about being a model and knowing many celebrities, but later, she apologized. 'Season 3' In Bang, episode 7 of the third season, Lynette has a series of dreams about the last time she talked to Mary Alice, moments before she shot herself. Lynette tormented herself over not trying to save Mary Alice. After a hostage situation in which two people were killed and Lynette was injured, she had one final dream of Mary Alice. This time, however, Lynette tried to prevent something bad from happening by asking if she could help her. Mary Alice replied that she couldn't, but she could do something. She could enjoy the lovely day ,as we get so few of them. Mary Alice, as the narrator, says, "This was the last time Lynette would dream of me, and for her sake, I am grateful." 'Season 4' Mary Alice was not a prominent part of this season, but she was seen on various occasions nonetheless. Her first appearance of the season was in the second episode Smiles of a Summer Night. In a flashback of Susan’s about the day on which Katherine Mayfair abruptly left Wisteria Lane, Mary Alice and Susan walk up to Katherine’s house, questioning her about why there is a moving van outside her house. Katherine tells them that she got a job in Chicago and when Susan asks if Julie can say goodbye to Dylan, Katherine answers no. A crashing noise is heard upstairs making Katherine more evasive than she already is. When Susan asks if everything is alright, Katherine makes her abrupt excuses and says she is really going to the two of them, shutting the door. It was mentioned that Mary Alice held the position of President of Wisteria Lane's homeowners' association, a position left vacant for four years (after her death) until Katherine Mayfair returned and insisted a new one (herself) be elected. Mary Alice makes her second and last onscreen fourth season appearance in the finale called Free in a flashback to the night before Katherine left Wisteria Lane. Whilst Katherine and Lillian were out, Mary Alice was babysitting Dylan and revealed that Katherine's then husband, Wayne Davis, had arrived and given Dylan a toy doll and a tricycle. Having no idea that Katherine was running away from her abusive ex, Mary Alice apologizes for any wrong doing as Katherine rushes inside with her Aunt Lillian to check on Dylan. 'Season 5' Like the last two seasons, Mary Alice has no main storyline and she has makes just one appearance -- in episdoe 13. Mary Alice's role decreased remarkably in this season from the last as she only makes one appearance and does not appear in the finale. She also has no storyline. There is one episode in which she is not the narrator, thanks to the death of Edie Britt. Her role in this season is identical to season 3 -- 1 appearance, and 1 episode in which she is not the narrator. 'Season 6' Mary Alice appears in a flashback, during the "Eddie" episode, where we discover Eddie's backstory. She is the first of the housewives to meet him, when he is just a small child. After his father leaves his mother, Mary Alice tries to befriend the family and ensure that Barbara is a good mother to her son. However, we can assume that, due to Mary Alice's suicide, her positive influence on Eddie died as well. 'Season 7' The season begins with a recap of previous events. and Mary Alice hug in a flashback.]] We see Mary Alice, our deceased narrator, and her husband, Paul, enjoying themselves at a neighborhood BBQ. The camera pans back and shows Rex Van de Kamp and Carlos Solis chatting over a drink, as Tom jokes around with Susan and Lynette while cooking some meat on the grill. Children run around the garden happily. Karen McCluskey is sitting beside Martha Huber and the two are enjoying their meals. Bree and Gabrielle converse beside them. The camera fades to black. In a flashback we have seen many times before, Mary Alice pulls a purple envelope out of her mailbox and opens it slowly. We next see her sitting down at the dining table and she flips open the folded card and reads the writing. Finally, Mary Alice stands frozen in her living room. She pulls her arm up revealing a small hand-gun and places it firmly on the side of her head. Paul stands outside a home on Wisteria Lane. The door swings open and Martha Huber smiles gently. We cut to Paul violently strangling the woman, whose lifeless body collapses. Paul is watering his flowers - Felicia Tilman, Martha's sister, stands in the foreground, clearly plotting against him. Next, Felicia is standing in her kitchen. She pulls out a large kitchen knife and holds if close to her two fingers. We see a policeman standing beside a crime scene, he holds Felicia's fingers in a plastic wallet. Paul is imprisoned for Felicia's 'murder' - we see him behind bars looking resentful. Years later, a policeman is waiting beside a country road. A small car whizzes past him and the cop decides to give chase. A blonde-haired woman is arrested for having no identification. She has two missing fingers - it's Felicia. She is put behind bars for framing her death. Paul is in his cell putting on a shirt and tie. His lawyer visits him and hands over his settlement cheque. Paul is a free man. "So where you going first," the lawyer asks friendly, "After all these years in prison, I guess you're ready to party!" Paul admits that all he wishes to do is go home to his old neighborhood. The lawyer points out that no-one would blame Paul if he hated his neighbors because they didn't support him during the trial. "Oh, I don't hate them", Paul says, "A little." It's a beautiful day on the Lane. The front door of 4353 Wisteria Lane opens slowly and Paul emerges. Karen McCluskey has returned from the supermarket. She spots Paul Young, who waves at her eerily, she drops her shopping bags in shock. He smiles deviously. Throughout the seventh series, Paul Young, Mary Alice's widower, returns to Wisteria Lane, having spent the previous ten years in prison, for allegedly murdering Felicia Tilman. Following his release and monetary compensation for wrongful incarceration, as well as the arrest of Felicia herself, Paul returns to his previous street, having acquired Susan Delfino's house, so he can get a fresh new start... or so he claims. ("Remember Paul?") Beth, Paul's second wife, meets with him on the lane, and they start living together. Beth met Paul in jail, and they got married there, and she never assumed he would actually get out of prison, which is why she now finds herself in a bit of a predicament, sharing a roof with a man she never assumed she'd one day be living with. When she fails to fulfill Paul's sexual desires as she had many times teased him about in their correspondence, he learns she never expected him to be released, and tell him he'll be patient with her, but not forever. Beth is concerned. ("You Must Meet My Wife") Throughout the season, Beth shows confidence in the fact that Paul is innocent of the murder of Martha Huber, despite her neighbors' own confidence that Paul is a bad man. ("Truly Content") However, when Paul buys his old house, the home he shared with Mary Alice and Zach, Beth is concerned. She finds him inside the house once, and asks him what he's doing there, and why he would want to purchase a place that is probably filled with so many bad memories. He claims he doesn't have bad memories from that place: mostly, he remembers sitting in the couch with his wife, drinking coffee... or in a chair, reading to his son... or decorating the Christmas tree in a corner with his family. He tells Beth he was happy there. He was in a real marriage. She asserts that their marriage is real, she just has to adapt to living with him first, and he doesn't make it any easier on her by keeping secrets. Paul says she is right, and, when he proceeds to leave, finishes off by saying "Secrets are why this house is empty right now". ("The Thing That Counts is What's Inside") Later, it is revealed that Beth is really Felicia Tilman's biological daughter, and a mere pawn in her master-plan to take down Paul Young once and for all. ("A Humiliating Business"/"Sorry Grateful") Following some encouragement from Reverend Sikes to be more inclusive towards Beth, Bree forges a relationship with Paul's second wife, who explains to her that Paul was not a bad person, he's just someone who's been through a hard life, having been arrested for a crime he didn't commit, having lost his first wife to suicide, and having a son who hates him. Bree is moved by this, and asks Beth to come over one night, when she is entertaining for her friends. The remaining women are not happy about this, and Beth realizes that she should go, but Bree tells her not to, then asking for a sidebar with the other gals. In the kitchen, Bree brings up Mary Alice's story, a woman whose pain they neglected to notice and they all can recall her story didn't have a happy ending. She asks them whether they want the same thing to happen to Beth. The girls decide to give it another go, and decide to become friendlier towards Beth. ("Where Do I Belong?") After Paul discovers that Beth is Felicia's daughter, he kicks her out of his house, and eventually confesses to her, as a means to keep her away, that he did in fact murder her aunt Martha. She goes to see Felicia, but receives no sympathy as Felicia says she warned Beth. Beth begs her mother to let her make it up to her and reveals that Paul confessed to Martha's murder. However, Felicia points out that she doesn't have any proof of his confession and says she has no use for Beth now. Beth sobs that she has nowhere to go, but Felicia is uncaring, telling her prison guard to take Beth off the visitors list. kills herself, much like Mary Alice did.]]After all this, Beth learns that she is a match for Susan Delfino, meaning she can donate Susan one of her kidneys, and thus Beth arrives at the emergency room and announces that she wants to donate a kidney to Susan. She hands over the forms, even though the nurse at the desk repeatedly tells her that she is on the wrong floor. Eventually, the nurse agrees to make sure the forms get to the right place just to keep Beth quiet. Beth thanks her, explaining that this is the most important thing she has ever done. As the nurse walks away, Beth pulls a gun out of her bag and shoots herself in the head, in a manner akin to Mary Alice's. ("Searching") Following Beth's suicide, Gabrielle wants to check with neighbors to see if they're still coming to Renee Perry's spring fling, but Bree, shocked by their insensitivity, reminds Gaby that, even though they didn't know Beth that well, they did know Mary Alice, who went through something similar, and Beth's suicide has brought up bad memories of that. Eventually, Paul decides to honor Beth's final wish of giving Susan her kidney, and Susan comforts him in his moment of pain. ("Everything's Different, Nothing's Changed") Later, when Paul and Felicia head on over to a lake to allegedly dump Beth's ashes, Felicia finally acknowledges that she knows Martha had been blackmailing Mary Alice, which is why Paul killed her. ("Moments in the Woods") When Paul is preparing to move away so that he can start anew somewhere else, Susan isn't happy to see him go. She becomes nostalgic, holding a picture of the Young family (Paul, Mary Alice and Zach), and reminds him that when she moved onto the street he and his wife were so nice to her, which is why she wanted to stay there so much. Paul tells her they had to be nice, they had been running away from something terrible they'd done for so many years. They spent everyday waiting for the past to catch up to them, and it did, as it usually does. That same day, Felicia finally tries to exact her new revenge plan by getting Paul's confession of Martha's murder on tape and poisoning him, but Susan comes to the rescue, and Felicia flees and is ultimately killed in a car crash. Paul confesses to the murder of Martha Huber and is, yet again, arrested. ("And Lots of Security...") 'Season 8' Following the manslaughter of Alejandro Perez, perpetrated by Carlos, the women find themselves co-conspirators in a murder cover-up. Shortly after the burial of the cadaver, the women and Carlos are all overcome with guilt and fear, as they try to carry on with their lives. A month later, they're still desperate, and Bree tries her best to hide the crime from her detective boyfriend, Chuck Vance, and to help her friends deal with their sorrow. Once they all reach an understanding that they will never be able to truly move on or to even tell anyone, a small wave of relief still manages to surface, but the wave is splashed to inexistence when Bree opens up her mailbox one night to find a letter sent by an anonymous individual... with the exact same message Mary Alice got before she committed suicide. Bree's world falls apart at the sight of the iconic phrases that drove her best friend to death. ("Secrets That I Never Want to Know") Following this harrowing discovery, Mary Alice informs us that she and her friend Bree had always led similar lives, striving to uphold a perfect façade that would help conceal a dark interior, filled with secrets and regrets. The newly received letter proved to be the cherry on top of the cake in that comparison game, as Bree's life was turning more and more uncannily like Mary Alice's, and thus she was now filled with a horrifying fear that it might one day end the same way as well. In a flashback, Mary Alice is shown receiving the letter, and then contemplating telling the girls about her deepest, darkest secret. However, she decides against it, so as to not burden them. Later, she's seen loading up the barrel of her gun, about to use it for the first time. In the present, Bree tries to keep the letter from her boyfriend, and only tells of it to her friend Gabrielle, who agrees with Bree that Susan, Lynette and Carlos shouldn't be told of it, as to not add to their list of worries. In prison, Bree conferes with Paul Young, trying to know if he's behind the sending of the note, which upsets him a lot, considering how that same message contributed to the ruining of his life. Paul then advises Bree to share her note with the girls, because he can't help but wonder how different things would had turned out had Mary Alice shared hers with them. ("Making the Connection") Some time later, after Bree and Chuck have broken up and the latter has grown suspicious that the women are all involved in a murder cover-up, Bree's life spirals out of control as she gives in to despair, losing all grip. She checks into a motel, staying in the same room where she used to consort with Karl Mayer, and brings with her a bottle of chardonnay (having fallen back into old habits) and a gun. After she puts them both down on the room's table, an inebriated Bree has a brief chat with none other than Mary Alice, who has appeared before her. Bree asks her if she remembers how wonderful life was on the lane; Mary Alice slightly nods. Bree smiles as she remembers her perfect life, doctor husband, two beautiful children and amazing friends. She begins to cry and asks what happened to her life, so the vision of Mary Alice says “Things change, Bree”. Bree tells Mary Alice that she’s so unhappy, and after a moment of silence, she asks if Mary Alice is happy now. After a moment of thinking, Mary Alice says “I'm not unhappy”. With that, the vision fades away and Bree is left alone, confused and distressed. She then picks up the gun with both her hands as she begins to contemplate suicide. ("Putting It Together") However, shortly afterwards, Renee Perry shows up, having assumed that Bree was sleeping with her boyfriend, Ben Faulkner, and prevents her from killing herself. Following this, Renee moves in with Bree temporarily, to keep her from attempting suicide again, and eventually lets out that her mother killed herself as well. During the funeral of Chuck Vance, who'd been run over by an unknown assailant in a hit-and-run situation, Renee finally opens up some more about her mother's suicide, and Bree is then silent for a while longer, and then says "Many years ago, a neighbor and a good friend of ours... took her life. And that lefts us all heartbroken and perplexed. But somehow, when I was alone in that hotel room... I forgot about all the pain she caused." Renee is still trying to keep from crying, and Bree adds, "In those awful moments, I thought maybe she had the answer."; Bree then turns back to Renee and says, "But then you showed up. Thank God." Renee faces her as well, and Bree continues: "You will always be the person who saved my life. And now that I've had time to think about it, I realize that makes you the best friend I'll ever have." They both exchange emotional smiles, and then Bree puts her hand on Renee's, as they turn to the front to witness the memorial. At the end of the episode, Bree receives something Mary Alice never did: a second blackmail letter, which reads "You're welcome", presumably alluding to the murder of Chuck.("What's to Discuss, Old Friend?") Later, after Orson Hodge, Bree's second husband, comes to her rescue after she manages to make an even bigger mess out of her life by succumbing to alcohol and by engaging in sexual affairs with indiscriminate men, it is revealed that he was indeed the one behind the letters and the murder of Chuck, as part of a major plan to make Bree miserable and lonely so that he could sweep in and play the part of the hero who turned her life around. Orson had witnessed the major events related to the murder of Alejandro, and thus sent Bree the note that drove her best friend to suicide, knowing the effect it'd have on her, and later killed Chuck when he vowed to ruin Bree's life, sending her a second letter afterwards.("Get Out of My Life"/"She Needs Me") Some time later, Mary Alice tells us that it's a shame how people on Wisteria Lane take each other for granted, because in a matter of days one of its residents will be dead. A few days later, Mike Delfino is shot and killed by a loan shark. ("You Take for Granted") Following this senseless tragedy, Mary Alice teaches us that, no matter how much death takes from us, it also gives, by enabling us to realize what really matters in life. ("Women and Death") Notes *Mary Alice Young typically serves as the narrator of the series, except for two episodes: "My Husband, the Pig" (3.16), which is narrated by Rex Van de Kamp (Steven Culp) and is more male-oriented; and "Look Into Their Eyes and You See What They Know" (5.19), which is narrated by Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan), and centers around that character. Considering that Mary Alice provided original narration for the "Previously on..." segment of 3.16, but no such segment was featured in 5.19, the character only actually has one absence over the course of the entire series. *Despite her record of appearances over the course of the show as a narrator, Mary Alice has only actually been physically seen, on-screen, in a total of 16 episodes: "Pilot", "Pretty Little Picture", "Guilty", "The Ladies Who Lunch", "One Wonderful Day" (season 1); "There is No Other Way", "Remember, Part 1", "Remember, Part 2" (season 2); "Bang" (season 3); "Smiles of a Summer Night", "Free" (season 4); "The Best Thing That Ever Could Have Happened" (season 5); "Epiphany" (season 6); "Remember Paul?" (season 7); "Making the Connection" and "Putting It Together" (season 8). **The character was originally meant to be physically seen in "Not While I'm Around", but her scenes were apparently cut. Behind Closed Doors The character is played by actress Brenda Strong, and narrates the series from beyond the grave; the character's suicide in the pilot episode served as the catalyst of the series. Marcia Cross originally auditioned for the role, but was given the part of Bree Van de Kamp instead. In the original pilot episode, she was portrayed by Sheryl Lee. Her narration technique is akin in style to Edgar Lee Masters' ''Spoon River Anthology. Gallery Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the character. Promo 103 16.png Promo 103 17.png Promo 103 18.png Promo 103 21.png Promo 103 37.png Trivia *Mary Alice and Edie's relationship has never been explored in flashbacks, and neither have ever been seen together in any sort of backstory. However, Edie referred to Mary Alice as her "friend" in "Back in Business". *All the members of the original Young family have killed someone: Mary Alice killed Deirdre Taylor, Paul killed Martha Huber, and Zach killed his biological grandfather Noah Taylor. de:Mary Alice Young fr:Mary Alice Young Category:Main characters Category:Housewives Category:Mothers Category:Deceased characters Category:Murderers Category:Season 1 characters Category:Season 2 characters Category:Season 3 characters Category:Season 4 characters Category:Season 5 characters Category:Season 6 characters Category:Season 7 characters Category:Medical Personnel Category:Homeowners Association members Category:Gun owners Category:Mystery characters Category:Mother of a main character Category:Suicidal characters Category:Mary Alice's family Category:Wisteria Lane residents Category:Season 8 characters Category:Narrator characters Category:Desperate Housewives: The Game characters Category:Characters in all 8 seasons Category:Females Category:Name Changer Category:Criminals